1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to housings for electrical components and more specifically, to housings for external computer peripherals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The popularity of external hardware peripheral equipment for computers arises in part from the convenience of merely plugging the peripheral into the computer via an interface cable thereby saving the user from opening up the casing of the computer. In addition, many external devices are designed to be plugged into a main hub and would otherwise be restricted by the internal size and number of internal sockets of the main processor housing. The main focus of hardware designers working on these devices has been improving the technical performance of the internal components. As a result, limited forethought has been introduced into the external casing of the device.
Currently, typical hardware peripherals such as drives of the CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, Hard, Floppy, DVD, Tape, WORM, Jaz, and Zip variety have their main working components encased in a close fitting metallic casing for internal use within a computer. To be transformed into an external device, the drive is typically enclosed in a second slightly larger casing. This external casing is typically metal and is generally held together by threaded fasteners.
In addition to the drive, the external casing typically accommodates a cooling fan, a power supply, and an interface connector specific to the internal device. In other words, the external casing is typically designed and limited to the incorporation of an interface panel for a specific interface connector such as a Small Computer Serial Interface (SCSI), parallel, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector. The casing is not readily adapted to alternate connectors and a differently configured housing must be procured or developed. An internal interface cable connects the drive to the interface connector at the back of the casing. An external cable is then used to connect the external drive to a desired port on the rear panel of a central processor.
Other external casings are available including towers or cabinets designed to hold multiple drive units. Typically, the drives are vertically aligned on shelves or brackets throughout the cabinet. This type of external casing is also metal and sometimes incorporates multiple fans to cool multiple drive units.
Several drawbacks are readily apparent from the current external casing designs. The metallic casings add an unnecessary amount of significant weight to the external peripheral. Since structural support is not a major design concern, the overall weight of the product could be reduced. The casings are also generally secured by threaded fasteners which increases both assembly time and deassembly time.
The incorporation of a fan for cooling the drive adds significant weight to the product and contributes to a reduced meantime between failure because the fan is typically the first component to fail.
Conventional external peripheral casings are tailored to a particular model or manufacture and typically tightly enclose the internal unit. As a result, conventional casings do not provide a standard casing capable of housing components of a variety of shapes and sizes. Along these same lines, current external casings are typically constructed to contain an interface panel of a particular design or model and do not readily accept alternative interface panels without significant modification to the casing. Another notable design limitation is that the individual peripherals, when stacked, typically do not resist motion in relation to one another and are easily misaligned.
What is needed and heretofore unavailable is an easy to assemble, modular external casing made of a light weight material that facilitates different sized drives and alternative connectors while providing an improved stacking relationship to other housings.